Safetynet 291

SafetyNet 291, August 28 2014We would like to
welcome all our subscribers to this edition of the SafetyNet journal. Please send though any comments or ideas: we
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Union News

Workplace fatality:
CampbellfieldIt is with regret that we report that a man was killed at a
Campbellfield worksite last Friday morning after being crushed by a stack of
boxes in a machinery accident. Police who attended the scene said a vertical
cardboard stacker collapsed on the man, aged in his 40s. It appears the man was
lifting boxes from a stack above his head with a winch when a cable broke and
they fell. The man died at the scene, and was found by a co-worker when he
returned to the factory just after 9am. VWA investigators were at the unsigned
warehouse.Source: The Herald Sun

The rights of women
workersLast week, as one of the
keynote speakers at the ACTU's National Women's Conference, Tanya Plibersek,
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and Shadow Minister For Foreign Affairs and
International Development, noted the pay gap between men and women in Australia
is now at a twenty year high: an average man now earns 18.2 per cent, or $283.20
per week, more than a woman doing comparable work. Even worse, where most of the
workers are women, where it's 'caring work', the wages are even lower: women's
work is not properly valued. Many of the problems faced still today by women
workers have health and safety implications:

The gender pay gap means that in a 38 hour working week, women who start at 9am, by 3.38pm every day are working for free. Earning a decent wage often means working long hours and being at risk of fatigue.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, the number of people who reported having being sexually harassed in the workplace increased between 2008 and 2012 – most of them were women, and most people reported having been harassed in the workplace.

The rise of insecure work in Australia and around the world is leaving women with fewer rights and less economic independence.

Maritime Union
bitterly disappointed with downgrade The MUA said on its
website this week: "Safe Work Australia is moving a number of Codes of Practice
- including stevedoring and diving - to guidance material, meaning employers
will be under less scrutiny and therefore less compelled to provide a safe
working environment." The union opposes the move and is calling on the SWA to
reverse its decision.

"The regulator,
driven by the anti-worker Abbott Government's agenda, does not operate best
interests of the Australian community, instead it is operating to increase the
bottom line of greedy stevedoring companies who would rather see people die
than adopt safer working practices," said Assistant National Secretary Warren
Smith. "If the draft code of practice had been adopted and adhered to at the Port of Melbourne Anthony Attard would not have
been killed that bleak day in May."

MUA Assistant
National Secretary Ian Bray said it was unbelievable that the regulators would
consider softer regulation in the diving industry in the wake of criminal
charges being laid against Paspaley Pearling Company after Jarrod Hampton, 22,
died on his second day at work two years ago. "The current regulation doesn't
go far enough, even the Western
Australia safety regulator identified this and now
they're doing a backflip because vested interest groups have told them they
can't afford to clean up their act."

ETU Video on the Building Code
The Electrical Trades Union has produced a video aimed at Senators outlining
what it sees as the effects on building workers if the Abbott Government's proposed
new Building Code gets through the Senate. The union says it "strikes at the
heart of the Australian way of life, undermining the fair go and basic human
rights. The Code's impact on working hours, job security, incomes and living
standards, injuries and fatalities, opportunities for apprentices and older
workers will devastate family life and our communities."Check out the video on YouTube

CFMEU Stand Up Speak Out Stay Safe reports on
governments slashing safetyAcross the country, the
federal and states governments are trying to wind back hard won gains on health
and safety. The CFMEU has announced it 'will shine a light on every one of
their attempts at slashing safety.' The latest example it has found, number 13,
is the Federal Government's decision in June to cancel its $1 million grant to
Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) – the multi-stakeholder body that seeks to
lift the working conditions of an estimated 6,000 home workers in Australia's
clothing industry. ECA, which relied on federal support for the majority of its
funding, requires company members to undergo a comprehensive occupational
health and safety audit of their business and supply chain - to protect some of
the most vulnerable workers in the country. ECA's future is uncertain. Stand up for Safety and sign the CFMEU petitionRead more: Federal funding
cut hits Ethical Clothing Australias fight against fashion sweatshopsSlashing safety ABC News online

No action on offshore
safety concerns two years on from Stena Clyde deathsYesterday, August 27, marked
two years since the deaths of two workers on the Stena Clyde oil rig in the
Bass Strait off the coast of Victoria and still no action has been taken over
long-standing safety concerns.

Unions have called on the Federal Government to launch a review
into the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management
Authority (NOPSEMA), which is responsible for the investigation into the
deaths. "The families of Peter Meddens and Barry Denholm are still waiting for
answers two years after they got the terrible news that they would never see
their loved ones again," said ACTU Assistant Secretary Michael Borowick. "The
ACTU is concerned NOPSEMA is too close to the industry to act as an effective
regulator," he said. Mr Borowick added that union officials were blocked from
talking to workers and inspecting the worksite after the Stena Clyde deaths,
while NOPSEMA largely excludes unions from providing valuable input into safety
concerns.

MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said the MUA has long held
concerns that NOPSEMA does not adequately work with unions to prevent safety
breaches. "This needs to change and both NOPSEMA and the Abbott Government must
commit to involving unions in workplace safety matters," Mr Crumlin said.

On Tuesday, NOPSEMA issued a very brief media release stating it
had completed its investigation into the double fatality, and that "legal
proceedings had commenced through the Magistrates' Court of Victoria with the
assistance of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) for
specific breaches of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act
2006." It also stated: "Upon conclusion of the legal proceedings, NOPSEMA will
communicate lessons learnt with duty holders and the wider community." Not exactly the involvement sought for and
demanded by unions.Read more: ACTU Media
Release

Asbestos NewsASEA Conference: November 16 – 18, 2014The Asbestos
Safety and Eradication Agency (ASEA) has opened registrations for the 1st
International Conference on Asbestos Awareness and Management, to be held at
Crown Casino on 16 – 18 November. The invited international speakers are: Assistant
Surgeon General, USPHS (ret.) Richard A. Lemen Ph.D., M.S.P.H, a former
Assistant Surgeon General of the United States;
and Professor Ken Takahashi, Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and
Director of WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health at the University of Occupational
and Environmental Health (UOEH), Japan.

The cost of
registration is up from $250 ('early bird' 'community' registration before
September 30, no conference dinner) to $900 (full 'commercial' including
conference dinner). Read more: ASEA Conference including
program information, and registration details.

ACV GARDS Asbestos Newsletter now availableThe
latest ACV/GARDS newsletter August 2014 [pdf]
is now available from the Gippsland based asbestos diseases support and advocacy
group. The newsletter has articles on the effects of the Hazelwood fire on
asbestos disease sufferers, the group's support for the Asbestos Eradication and
Safety Agency, and news on a range of activities, including early notification
of Asbestos Awareness Week events GARDS is organising.

Annual Australian Mesothelioma Registry
ReportThe 3rd annual
report from the Australian Mesothelioma Registry (AMR), released this week, is
now available online. The report presents incidence and mortality data,
primarily for those diagnosed in 2013, and also data from the asbestos exposure
component of the AMR.

As at 31 May
2014, the AMR had received 575 notifications of people newly diagnosed with
mesothelioma between 1 January and 31 December 2013. Of these people, 465 were
males and 110 were females, and the majority (80.0%) were aged 65 years or over
at the time of diagnosis. The annual age-specific incidence rates of
mesothelioma peaked at 7.5 per 100,000 in females 80 - 84 years of age and 42.3
per 100,000 in males 80 - 84 years of age.

An additional 33
people with mesothelioma were notified to the AMR following the publication of
the AMR's 2012 report. This has increased the previously reported number of
diagnoses for 2012 from 619 to 652. A similar increase is likely to be seen in
the reported number of patients diagnosed in 2013.

At 31 May 2014,
218 (37.9%) mesothelioma patients diagnosed in 2013 were recorded as having
died. Where cause of death was known, 89.4% were recorded as being due to
mesothelioma. The report is an
electronic-only release and is available to download from this
pageof the AMR website.

Asbestos and schoolsDue to how
widespread asbestos is, not only does Australia have regular and
potentially very serious exposures in our schools, but so too do other
countries. Many of the schools in the UK have asbestos, and incidents
occur which mean that teachers, students and others are exposed. A website has
been set up, which lists the incidents, and also provides information and
advice on policies and management of asbestos.Check out the UK's Asbestos
exposures in schools

UK:
Brothers given custodial sentence for exposing workers to asbestosTwo brothers with little
or no experience of building and construction work have been given prison
sentences after they exposed workers to asbestos. At least seven workers are
known to have been exposed to asbestos – one aged just 17 at the time – by the
men during refurbishment work at a former print works in the UK. The Court
was told that neither was qualified or experienced in construction, demolition
or refurbishment work; nor were they licensed to remove asbestos. The UK's Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) prosecuted the brothers after an investigation found work was being
carried out without the necessary asbestos surveys and in contravention of the
law. Despite repeated visits from HSE inspectors and numerous enforcement
notices warning them of their failings, the brothers continued to refurbish the
building and disturb asbestos material – putting workers at risk. After pleading guilty to breaching the Health
and Safety at Work Act, one brother was given a custodial sentence of 22 weeks
and ordered to pay costs of £43,000 (A$76,400), while the other was sentenced to
14 weeks.Read more: HSE Media
Release

Landmark Asbestos Prosecution in BrazilOn August 12,
2014, a Brazilian asbestos taskforce arrived to inspect the Eternit
asbestos-cement factory in Rio de
Janeiro, an industrial facility that exploits a
judicial exemption allowing asbestos processing to continue in a state where
asbestos is banned. The inspection team
which included, doctors and environmental experts, and three labor prosecutors
from around the country, spent four days investigating the factory, its
documents and processes. For protection, the inspectors were accompanied by
officers from Brazil's
FBI. Following the inspection, on August 22 the prosecutors filed a class
action against the company with a catalogue of charges and indictments; the
civil lawsuit demanded the company pay $500+ million in collective pecuniary
and moral damages to cover medical assistance and treatment protocols,
including psychological support, hospital bills, palliative care and
alternative therapies, for asbestos victims. Part of the damages will be used
to pay for research into asbestos-related diseases, asbestos awareness campaigns,
and decontamination of the factory, the industrial site and the surrounding
areas.Read more: International
Ban Asbestos Secretariat August 23, 2014

Want to know about Asbestos laws and more
– go to the Asbestos section on
the site.

Union jobs - APHEDAUnion Aid Abroad‐APHEDA is seeking a person for the position of Pacific Project
Officer to work in our Sydney
office. The position is 30 hours per week for a fixed term until January 2016. This
position is responsible for:

Managing and assisting implementation of our Australian aid-funded program in the Solomon Islands in conjunction with Country Managers and local staff. This program is about building skills of adult Solomon Islanders via a network of local Community Learning Centres.

Developing a program of work in support of labour movements and social movements in Pacific Island countries, including those working on climate change.

Applications close 5pm Wednesday 3 September 2014. If you are interested,
read more and download a Position Description from the Unionjobs
website

United Firefighters NewsHazelwood fire OHS concernsThe United Firefighters Union (UFU) filed an extensive submission
including included personal experiences of a series of firefighters and focussing
OHS issues at the Hazelwood Mine Board of Inquiry hearings held in May and June
2014. Acting on firefighter concerns,
the UFU repeatedly sought action from the Fire Services Commission, CFA and MFB
Chief Officers and the Government to address the serious health and safety
concerns at the time of the fire operation. These concerns included exposure to
health-threatening levels of carbon monoxide, contaminated water and the
failure to appropriately test and monitor exposure levels and take appropriate
action. There were also inadequate
amenities including no or poorly organised transition areas resulting in
contaminated PPE having to be worn out of the mine and in rest and respite
areas including canteens.

In addition to its submission, the union also requested the
Coroner and the VWA to investigate the conduct of the operation of the mine
fire and resulting health issues suffered by firefighters and the community
with a view to possible prosecution. The Coroner's Office will not investigate as
it believes this would be a duplication of the government's inquiry. The VWA has
referred the matter to its Enforcement Group for a comprehensive investigation regarding
breaches of OHS legislation. The union
is pursuing the matter: the VWA has commenced this process including meeting
with the UFU. Source: UFU Victorian Branch Legal Update
Newsletter, August 2014

Presumptive legislation
The Northern Territory government will introduce presumptive legislation facilitating
career firefighters' access to workers compensation if they contract an
occupational cancer. Minister for Business Dave Tollner said the legislation
would provide a presumption that 12 specified cancers are deemed to be
contracted in the line of duty. The government was considering making them
retrospective so they apply to the specified cancers that are medically
diagnosed after 28 August 2013, the date when the NT Parliament first debated
the need for this legislation.

Similar legislation has been passed in the Commonwealth
jurisdiction, where career firefighters are now covered, and in Tasmania, where career
and volunteer firefighters are now covered. Legislation to provide firefighters
with presumptive cancer compensation is also before parliament in Victoria and South
Australia.

Quad bikes deaths:
resistance to regulation
Despite the fact that quad bikes are now the biggest cause of death on
Australian farms, farmers themselves do not want more regulation – regulation
which would no doubt save lives: including the lives of their own children. A coronial inquest in Queensland is examining
nine recent fatal crashes in that state, and a list of recommendations will be
released later this year with the aim of making the vehicles less dangerous. Road
safety experts are calling for anyone under the age of 16 to be banned from
riding adult quad bikes, a new licensing system and helmets to be made
mandatory. Unions have been calling for
changes to quad bike design to include fitting of Crush Protection Devices, or
Rollover protection devices. Read more: ABC News Online Quad
bike deaths: Regulation resisted despite becoming number one cause of fatal
accidents on farms ABC 7.30: Nine
fatal quad bike accidents force rethink on safety regulations

Fly in Fly Out (FIFO)
inquiryThe Western Australian government has announced it will proceed
with an inquiry into FIFO suicides. The inquiry has been welcomed by The Sunday Times and PerthNow. This week's editorial urges all
stakeholders to embrace this as an opportunity: For the inquiry to serve its purpose,
it demands that employers, workers, unions, bureaucrats and the politicians who
sit on the committee approach the issue with fresh eyes, unblinkered by
strategic positions. However, it states, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy has
adopted a defensive posture: its Chief Executive Reg Howard-Smith said research
had yet to "find any substantial evidence" to support "recent assertions that
there may be a higher occurrence of mental health issues associated with FIFO
employment."

The editorial continues: Mr Howard-Smith also said some in the
community sought to stigmatise FIFO employees and perpetuate myths associated
with FIFO, despite a growing bank of research which highlights FIFO employees
share the same health and lifestyle outlook as other Western Australians. "Put
simply, it's a matter of choice for employees — a choice about where they live
and where they choose to work" said Mr Howard-Smith.

This position ignores the stresses that FIFO workers work under,
as confirmed recently by WA's Mental Health Commission which has previously
identified that FIFO workers have greater exposure to the risk factors that are
known to contribute to deaths by suicide.Read more: Perth Now Editorial: FIFO inquiry needs
to be embraced by all stakeholders

International Union News

Global: Unions kick off transport 'safe rates' campaignA worldwide campaign for safe pay rates for transport workers has
been launched by the sector's global union federation ITF. The 'Safe rates and
a safe industry- we're in, are you?' campaign is modelled on a highly
successful initiative by Australian truck drivers. In 2012, the Transport
Workers Union (TWU) won an Australia-wide safe rates law, intended to protect
drivers from pressure to work long hours, speed or take drugs just to keep
going. TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon, the newly elected road
transport chair of the ITF, said: "Transport work in Australia is dangerous work. Transport
workers are 15 times more likely to die at work than workers in any other
industry."Read more: ITF
news release. TWU Safe Rates campaign. Source: Risks 668

China: factories closed following blastA metal
dust explosion was probably to blame for the blast we reported on last week
which killed 75 workers. More than 180 other people were hurt in the blast at
the car parts factory in Kunshan in Jiangsu
province. State media said at least 25 people had died in hospital. The metallic
dust stuck to workers' skin, causing extensive burns. The blast is China's worst
industrial accident since a fire at a poultry factory in June 2013 that killed
119 people. The plant, operated by Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products Company,
polishes wheel hubs for car makers including General Motors. The company had
been warned by the safety body that high levels of dust in the air could cause
an explosion. Dust explosions occur when metallic particles contained in an
enclosed space are ignited by a spark. Source: BBC News

Research

Using technology to manage work-life
balanceWhen it comes to managing boundaries
between work responsibilities and home life, technology is our "frenemy." Technology,
specifically mobile technology, can be alternately used to maintain, erase or
manage home and work boundaries along a spectrum.

In
ongoing research, titled "Strategic Use
of Mobile Technology to Manage the Work-Family Boundary," a University of Cincinnati research team has found that
full-time working employees can use several strategies when using technology to
manage work-home boundaries. These include:

'collocation': when an individual reports being physically present in one domain while cognitively and behaviourally engaged in both domains. This may include engaging in both work and personal tasks while in the home domain (eg checking work-related emails while at a child's sports event)

'distancing': which occurs when an individual either turns off the technology or changes the setting to be unavailable in one domain when engaged in the other; and

'crossing': when an individual uses technology as an aid in moving from one domain to another (eg: using mobile communications technology to bridge between work and home domains by accessing work e-mails via a laptop or smartphone near the end of the workday to respond to a request or complete a task before becoming fully engaged in the home domain).

According
to joint author Stacie Furst-Holloway, UC associate professor of psychology,
"These strategies were often perceived as a help in navigating work-home
boundaries. For instance, with collocation, an employee might be in the same
physical space as a spouse, being present when needed for the personal
relationship, but alternating that with work completion. It allows for greater
perceived control of work flow and information required to be better prepared
upon returning to the office."Read more: University of Cincinnati News In Managing Boundaries Between Work and Home, Technology Can
Be Both 'Friend' and 'Foe'

OHS Regulator News

State OHS/WHS regulators threatened by
bill expanding ComcareA federal Bill designed
to expand the Comcare scheme and grant group employer licences for eligible
self-insurers introduced into the House of Representatives in March which will
potentially be passed in the Spring sitting, could put state schemes under extreme
pressure. If businesses move to Comcare for workers compensation, as they began
to under the Howard government, then they are automatically covered by the
Commonwealth WHS Act, and move right out of the state systems – taking their
insurance premiums with them. Not only does this put the viability of the state
regulators at risk, but also the health and safety of workers and their rights
under workers compensation. For example,
under Comcare common law compensation payments are capped at $110,000.

VWA and WorkCover NSW: safety in
construction On Monday it was
announced that Victorian and NSW health and safety inspectors would be active
along the Victoria and NSW border this week in an ongoing campaign to promote
construction site safety in the region. Inspectors
from the Victorian WorkCover Authority and WorkCover NSW joined forces to visit
construction sites in Cobram, Barooga, Yarrawonga and Mulwala from 25-29
August.

Inspectors
from both states worked together to provide information and advice to local
builders, contractors and workers about construction site safety requirements. VWA
Regional Operations Manager, Brooke Grey, said the Cross Border Project had
already assisted more than 200 border construction sites to understand the
similarity of safety obligations between the two states. "Workplace injury
claims across the Moira Shire Council have dropped more than 14 per cent over
the past three financial years, but there is still more that can be done," Ms
Grey said. "Many injuries result from lack of planning and poor monitoring of
the actual work being undertaken."

Ms
Grey said the keys to improving worksite safety include having Safe Work Method
Statements that addressed the hazards associated with high-risk construction
work, supervising the work when necessary and paying attention to simple tasks
such as general worksite house-keeping.Read more: VWA Media Release Construction
safety a focus on both sides of the border

VWA investigating factory fire in HighettWorkers had to
be evacuated when their brass factory caught fire in the outer Melbourne suburb of Highett last week. Two
workers received minor injuries in the fire, thought to have been caused by fault
in a furnace in the brass foundry. The MFB reported that the incident was being
investigated by 'Work Safe' (the VWA).

Queensland:
fatality at cattle saleyardsWorkplace Health and
Safety Queensland yesterday announced it was investigating a fatal incident
that occurred on Tuesday 26 August at the Gracemere Saleyards near Rockhampton.
The regulator states the worker died in hospital from injuries he sustained
after he fell from the top of a cattle transport trailer and was caught between
its tray and gate and the back of another trailer. The trailers were positioned
tail to tail in order to transfer cattle. The Incident Alert has links to more information. Read more: Incident
Alert

Safe Work AustraliaAustralia-wide
fatalitiesThe Safe Work webpage
on reported workplace fatalities has been updated: as at 27 August, 117
fatalities had been reported. The fatalities: 42 in Transport, postal and
warehousing; 27 in Agriculture, forestry and fishing; 14 in Construction; 11 in
Mining; six in Manufacturing; five in Accommodation & food services; three
in Electricity, Gas & Water Services; and Arts & recreation services;
and one each in Health care/social assistance; Retail; Wholesale Trade; Public
administration and safety; Government administration & defence; and 'other
services'.Read
more: Safe Work Australia Work-related fatalities

Safe
Work has now released the monthly fatality report for May. The report reveals
that crushing incidents have been among the leading causes of work-related
deaths this year. Nineteen work-related deaths were reported to Australia's OHS
regulators in May: nine workers (or bystanders) were killed in vehicle incidents
on public roads, four were fatally crushed (between a moving and a stationary
object, for example), and two were killed in an air crash. Monthly reports can
be downloaded from the Safe Work Australia Monthly Fatalities Reports
page.

OHS Prosecutions

VictoriaUpdate: SPC Ardmona - amputationAfter
having sent the journal out last week, we learnt that SPC Ardmona was placed on
a 12-month adjourned undertaking after a female worker's left arm was amputated
above the elbow on a fruit and vegetable packaging machine with a missing
guard. The company was also ordered to pay $45,000 (plus $3800 in costs) into a court fund. No conviction was
recorded - despite the company's guilty plea.

August 18: Dotmar EPP Pty
Ltd - guardingLast
Monday, Dotmar EPP Pty Ltd was convicted and fined $375,000 in the Melbourne
County Court following a series of safety incidents involving poorly guarded
machines. In October 2009 an employee's finger was caught and crushed in a
lathe; ten months later, another worker's thumb was crushed on the same piece
of equipment. Both workers needed surgery. And then, also in 2010, a third
employee suffered lacerations to his leg when he was trapped between a table
and the frame of a router.

The
employer was charged over the lathe incidents, and pleaded guilty to breaching
the OHS Act. Investigations revealed the interlock on the lathe had been
bypassed since about 2004 to allow the machine to be operated while the guard doors
were open. The employer was fined $300,000 over the first incident and $75,000
over the second.Source: VWA Prosecution Result Summaries & Enforceable
Undertakings

ACT: charges to be laid
over construction site fatalityThe
ABC this week reported that criminal charges are to be laid over the death of a
Yass man on a Canberra
construction site in 2011. The 45 year
old experienced construction industry worker was killed when a heavy grader
reversed over him. It appears that the coronial inquest into the death was to be
abandoned so criminal charges could be laid. The exact charges and accused
parties had not yet been revealed. A coronial inquest into the death has
previously heard there is a reasonable belief the grader driver, his employer
and supervisors on the site were criminally responsible. It has since been
reported that Canberra Contractors has been charged with failing to comply with
a safety duty and recklessly causing serious harm. The charge carries a maximum
penalty of seven years' jail and (only) a $14,000 fine under the previous OHS
laws.Source: ABC News Online

International News

Japan: Thyroid cancer
diagnosed in Fukushima young It was
reported this week that, according to officials, the number of young people in
Fukushima Prefecture who have been diagnosed with definitive or suspected
thyroid gland cancer, a disease often caused by radiation exposure, now totals
104. These are among 300,000 young
people who were aged 18 or under at the time of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and whose results
of thyroid gland tests have been made available as of June 30. They were
eligible for the tests administered by the prefectural government. However, experts are divided over whether these
cases should be linked to the 2011 nuclear accident.Read more: Thyroid cancer diagnosed in 104 young people in Fukushima Asahi Shinbun